Category: Biography

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‘The Second Coming of Steve Jobs’ Book Review

Dated, and lacking the magic of a truly insightful biography.

‘The Second Coming of Steve Jobs‘ is an interesting and well-researched account of Steve Jobs’ life through his “wilderness years” after being ousted from Apple in 1985, the failure of Next, almost accidental redemption through Pixar and triumphant return to Apple.

The book presents the good Steve/bad Steve dichotomy that represent this fascinating man’s maniacal genius. This account, while full of interesting anecdotes and little-remembered facts lacks the magic of a truly insightful biography. There’s a certain snidely vindictive tone throughout that smacks of envy and a lack of understanding. The author appears to not much like Steve Jobs, but he remains fascinated with him nonetheless. The story-telling has a journalistic quality that reads like a tabloid gossip column with drama, dirt and lots of juicy details.

Published in 2000, the book is dated. None of the details of the runaway success of the iPod and iPhone are included, so the reader will be left hungry for more. I read this book before Walter Isaacson’s definitive biography was published. I recommend ‘The Second Coming‘ only for readers who either want a quick snapshot into the darker side of Steve Jobs or those willing to read more than one biography.

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‘Infidel’ Book Review

A courageous, highly important and unavoidably incendiary contemporary work. ]

In ‘Infidel‘, Ayaan Hirsi Ali takes us on an unforgettable journey of personal transformation. Her 1970’s childhood was a traditional Muslim upbringing requiring submission and obedience.  She grew up in war-torn Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya with an absentee father and abusive mother to come of age as a member of parliament in Holland, and outspoken internationally renown activist.

Her brave and deeply personal memoir is arrestingly provocative because she is our contemporary. She tells of the realities of female subjugation, genital mutilation and arranged marriage because she lived it.  Her overwhelming pain and naturally rebellious spirit fed her passion, leading her first to seek political asylum, and now to ongoing work in human rights. That pain captures your imagination on every page of her matter-of-fact retelling of a remarkable life. As a woman only six years her junior, I couldn’t help thinking “this could have been me.” She leaves her readers with a sense of raw numbness, unsure of whether to feel offended or ashamed.

‘Infidel‘ is seen by some as an anti-Islamic polemic. Ayaan, who must still live with armed guard protection even in the United States, is seen as being an enemy of the Muslim faith. Does she have a right to be angry? Does this autobiography have a political agenda? Has she been too critical of Islam? I will leave you to answer these questions when you read ‘Infidel‘ for yourself.

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‘Call Me Ted’ Book Review

A visionary entrepreneur tells his extraordinary story.

In 1984 – when my parents were one of the first cable subscribers on a tiny Caribbean island – I had no idea that CNN was a fledgling cable network. It is easy to assume that rich, powerful, outspoken Southern billionaires such as Ted Turner have always been so. Not quite.

Ted Turner was once a rambunctious, badly behaved boy who was chucked off to boarding schools at a very tender age, expelled  several times, and repeatedly physically abused by a controlling alcoholic father. Despite his harsh childhood, there is no pity party in his autobiography ‘Call Me Ted‘. He tells the story of his challenging younger days with brevity and a matter of fact quality.

And then come the details of his staggering accomplishments. The trajectory goes like this: troubled child – college dropout – multi-billionaire. He was forced to eat humble pie by joining his father’s billboard business, but then went on to win the America’s Cup, start a cable network and eventually CNN, own the Atlanta Braves, become an exceedingly wealthy person and the largest single landowner in the United States. He even gave a billion dollars to the United Nations.

The story is so astounding, like a work of pop fiction, it is almost unbelievable. He is passionate, outspoken and in many ways a stubborn brat. How did he do it? Vision, belief in his dream and hard work. It makes your head spin, but the failures and frailties are candidly presented too.

An important part of the book is the space given to key persons in his life, including ex-wife Jane Fonda and arch-enemies to share their uncensored thoughts on him and their experiences with him. The book is so much richer for it.

I now have both a healthy respect and deep admiration for this extraordinary man – entrepreneur, visionary, humanitarian: a living legend.

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‘Night’ Book Review

 

[easyreview cat1title=”Quick Rating” cat1detail=”A haunting tribute to the power and beauty of the human spirit. ” cat1rating=”5.0″]


Night is Elie Wiesel’s autobiographical account of holocaust survival. Summon your courage and brace yourself emotionally for the coming onslaught of cruelty inflicted by Hitler on European Jews through an incredibly dark moment in human history.

The first thing that struck me was the purity of autobiographical account being told by Eliezer, a 14-year old Jewish boy living in Transylvanian town of Sighet. As the war raged and the Nazi atrocities mounted, the Jews in that town lived ignorantly contented lives – optimistic that war would soon be over and with a feeling of blissful insulation from its terrors.

Elie Wiesel’s language is plain, devoid of embellishment and his voice throughout the book is matter-of-fact. There is no colorful language to make the pungent odors or the heat emanating from the crematoriums of Auschwitz any more real. His retelling is haunting nonetheless.

This memoir of the daily fight for survival, the personal inner battles to preserve compassion, conscience and religion is a hopeful one. It is no surprise that the author, Elie Wiesel, went on to win the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. The power and beauty of human spirit in the face of the dehumanizing brutality of a monstrous regime is deeply inspiring.